


Eight Candles and a Shamash

by Control_Room



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Family, Fluff, Gen, Hanukkah, Jewish Holidays, Jewish Medic, Jewish Pyro, Jewish themes by a jewish author, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Presents, Religion, Sweet, Team as Family, Tooth Rotting Fluff, chanukkah, nonbinary Pyro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:48:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21774706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Control_Room/pseuds/Control_Room
Summary: It's everyone's first Chanukkah at base, and the team is very happy to indulge in the holiday with their resident Firebug and Doctor.
Relationships: Heavy/Medic (Team Fortress 2)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 115





	1. One Candle

“Just where do ya think yer goin’?”

Spy sighed as he lowered his hand away from the door, uncloaking to face the Engineer.

“Must you always catch me so eazily?” he asked with some distaste, his accent proving the point. “I was stepping out for a smoke.”

Engineer rose an eyebrow.

“While cloaked.”

“... Yez.”

“Unbelievable,” Engie grumbled, rolling his eyes behind his goggles, human hand heavily landing on Spy’s shoulder to lead him back into the pub room. “Normally, I’d let it slide, but not tonight. Ya do know what tonight is, right?”

“Extremely cold but not snowing outside?” Spy offered, not really certain where the engineer was going with this. Even from underneath the man’s dark goggles, he could see that he was very unimpressed. So, he tried again, giving it a bit more thought. “Soldier’s award giving night?”

“No, you thick headed frenchie,” Engie grimaced, but then smiled, patting Spy’s shoulder in comradire. “Pyro’s been goin’ on about it for weeks. It’s Chanukkah, and Pyro wants us all to be there for them and Medic. First Chanukkah for the doc since Germany.” 

Spy blinked, processing.

“Ah. Yes.” he suddenly felt very foolish, and very glad Dell had caught him before he left. “Thank you for reminding me, laborer.”

“You’re very welcome, partner,” Engie smiled at him, and then they walked into the mercenaries ‘living room’ together, arm in arm. There were soft lights everywhere, and Pyro brought a large plate of steaming latkes into the room from the kitchen. Engie took two and smiled at the pyromaniac. “Much obliged.”

“That iz disgusting,” Spy eyed Engineer, not referring to the latke, but to the way he used his gunslinger to dispense whipped cream onto it. “Do you eat that stuff while you work?”

“Yep, just spray it right into my mouth,” Engie winked at Scout, who grinned. “Want some on your latkes, kiddo?”

“I’m good with applesauce,” Scout beamed happily. “Demo made it, and it is delicious!”

“That true, Tavish?” Engineer asked with a smile. The Demoman laughed, slapping him on the back, and replied, “Yeah, laddie, course it is! Made it just for Pyro.”

Speaking of which, the firebug was happily dolling out more latkes, constantly checking the clock for the time to light the candles. Engineer, Medic, and Pyro had made the chanukiah, better known as the menorah, together, gathering scrap metal, refining it, and polishing it up to make it sparkle and shine. Pyro took a great deal of pride in the creation.

Ms. Pauling sat beside Pyro, thanking them quietly for the eight day vacation they had wrangled out of the administrator for her. They only laughed behind their mask and patted her hand, signing, ‘you’re welcome.’

Scout smiled and sat next to them, not stealing the spotlight for once, just stuffing his face with donuts and latkes. The older members of the crew smiled and cooed quietly amongst themselves about how adorable the young ones looked. Medic and Heavy chatted in their strange mix of Russian and German, a pseudo yiddish of sorts. At first the language barriers between them had bothered their relationship, but they soon realized that they both understood basic parts of each other’s language, and they joined that aspect to create their open dialogue. 

Spy settled himself beside Engie, picking up a bottle of the man’s beer. He had originally scoffed against Engie’s affirmation that it was an acquired taste, but he no longer denied it, not that it was a taste that he himself had acquired as well. Pyro, even though their face was hidden by their mask, clearly smiled at them, grateful for their appearance. 

The conversation died down, and all eyes were on the clock.

The seconds ticked by, everyone buzzing in anticipation. 

Then Pyro and Medic jumped up, rushing over to the Chanukiah, setting up the one candle for the night, starting from the right, and another middle candle to light it. 

The two of them said the blessings for lighting the candles, and then did so, right at the front window of their base. Across the fields, they could see another two candles flickering in the other team’s base. Pyro, after finishing the blessings, shot a flare into the sky, wishing the other team’s Pyro and Medic a happy Chanukah. A twin flare shot up a few moments later, making Dr. Ludwig smile, cuddling against Heavy. 

“We got somethin’ for ya, ye pyromaniac,” Demo slammed down his whiskey, grinning. “Well, each of us got ye somethin’, one present from one o’ us per night.”

‘Oh! I am excited!’ Pyro signed, the waving of their hands punctuating their spoken excitement. ‘What is it, what is it?’

“Well, I went first,” Sniper smiled, pulling out from behind himself a heavy looking package, wrapped nearly professionally, as was Sniper’s habit. “It’s my first celebration with a family since ‘strailia. Wanted to thank you for it. I know you’ll like this, mate. Go Pyro on, open it up.”

The Pyro set it down, hands rubbing together to quell the excitement and the trembling from it.

They slowly opened it, and everyone gasped in awe as they saw Sniper’s gift for Pyro.

“Mundy, holy…” Engie’s breathtaken voice was the first one, eyes wide. “Those are… _gorgeous_.”

Pyro was holding two candlesticks made of solid opal, fire opal to be precise. Sniper smiled at them sheepishly, watching Pyro admire the flickering candlesticks in the light of the menorah. 

“Thought you might like something nicer than tinfoil for lightin’ your shabbat candles,” he explained, rubbing the back of his neck. Pyro carefully set down the candlesticks, and jumped up to hug Sniper tightly. Sniper laughed, and hugged them back. “Thank you, Pyro.”

“Nm, Mnk mu,” Pyro replied, giving the Australian a final squeeze before letting him go. They patted his arm before signing. ‘So much.’

“It’s no problem, mate,” Sniper grinned. “Happy chanukkah, Pyro.”

As the candles’ light grew dim, the warmth in the base never felt better to all of them. 


	2. Presents

Most of them knew how to play one instrument or another, contrary to the popular belief that they were uneducated mongrels, which was entirely untrue for all of them, yes, even Scout. Hanukkah became an absolutely wonderful blessing for the whole of them, and the festival made the entire base(s) glow with the joy of the holiday.

So it seemed only natural that they would play music for the festivities. Misha’s low baritone accompanied the notes, and Scout’s energy was a boost for the party, though Pyro and Medic were forbidden (by their teammates) from doing any work - they could only have fun.

Pyro was singing and clapping along. Ludwig was laughing and spinning around and around with Heavy. That was all he could ask for. All the others had already given their gifts to Pyro, and it was the last night of lighting, so they all agreed to have one final party.

Spy had gotten for them a bouquet of perpetually burning night lilies, their lemon like aroma tranquil and calming, he not revealing how hard it really was to obtain the rare natural gems. Engie realized, though, and praised him quietly.

Engineer had engineered a fantasmical contraption that essentially a perpetual motion machine, one that used flame to grow a plant (somehow) and then when the plant was tall enough, the flame burnt it and restarted the growth with condensed water and fertilizing ashes.

Demo made a new type of grape juice, one that sparkled and bubbled like a soda, and he shared the recipe with all of them, so that they could always look back to the night they first drank it, the sweet goodness, all of them together the night of the miracle.

Scout and Ms. Pauling had together gotten for them a modified bb gun launcher, modified so that when the pellets make a hit, they burst into flame. Pyro and he spent an entire day hunting down spies and scouts, laughing so hard a bit of tears had made pools in Pyro’s goggles. 

Soldier had shown off his rather fine baking skills, and even managed to wrangle for them a barbeque even in the frigid weather, and though those two seem to clash, Soldier really made it work, a tangy barbeque with an orange meringue pie (nondairy, so that Ludwig and Pyro would be able to eat it as a dessert), delighting all of them with excellent flavor and taste.

Though Heavy was supposed to be next, he had asked to go last, and so, Medic went after.

Medic’s gift to Pyro was a quiet lullaby in german. Quiet, low, soft, gentle. Heart ridden and full of defiance. Even though hardly any of them could understand the words, tears of sorrow still rose in their eyes, some struggling not to cry. It was a clear call of kinship between the two, both swaying and weeping, but Ludwig’s voice was still strong, carrying up the memory of those that they had both lost. And yet, there was hope to the words, a reminder that they would rise up and not simply survive, but thrive. It was a touching moment, in the soft glow of the candle light.

Then it was Heavy. Everyone knew that his gift was not precisely to Pyro, but they all knew that Pyro would delight in it anyways, as they all would. They all knew what it was going to be… well, everyone knew, except the person that it was going to be for.

Medic.

The doctor was eagerly waiting for the sun to set, watching over the ridge of Teufort’s roof, both excited, but also a little melancholy, not wanting the holiday to end, but knowing it must, and knowing that the last day is the greatest miracle. He wondered why Heavy pushed off giving Pyro his gift, seeing that it was a balloonicorn onesie that they had greatly desired, but could not afford, having burned through all their funds (thankfully, not in the literal sense). 

And then, the sun’s rays winked over the horizon, signalling the very breaking of dusk. A wide grin spread over Ludwig’s face. The last night had come! It was time for lighting, and all the candles on the chanukiah! Finally, wondrous, wunderbar, the last night!

“Pyro! Pyro!” he called, giddy as a four year old on the morning of their birthday. “It is time to light, come one, let’s go! Come on, everyone! Time to light!”

Everyone was already waiting for him in the room they designated as the “living” room, Pyro wearing the balloonicorn onesie already, holding the toy close as well.

Silence.

Complete and total.

Medic realized all eyes were on him, and he smiled, a bit of nervousness filling his heart, until he saw Heavy. Then all that nervousness vanished. The gentle giant was smiling at him with a film of tears in his blue eyes. 

“What’s going on?” Medic asked, eyebrows raising. Heavy stepped forward, taking a deep breath to attempt to calm his own nerves. “Misha?”

Heavy stared at him, his mouth open, about to talk, but then the words were lost, and broke into a fit of giggles. 

“I had whole speech planned,” Heavy chuckled, Medic smiling patiently and with fondness. “However, now I see I forgot it. So, Medic, Ludwig,” he got to his knee, pulling out a little box from behind him, and Ludwig’s hands covered his mouth in a gasp. “Wi-”

“Yes.”

“But I have not asked yet,” Misha reminded with an incredulous but loving smile.

“Yes, ja, yes,” Ludwig was practically jumping into the air, eyes wide and teared up from joy. “Always! Yes.”

Heavy carefully opened the box with the ring, not too fancy nor ornate, with two silver doves around a heart shaped diamond. Then the tears in Ludwig’s eyes came out as he put it on. They shared a brief kiss, the team shouting congratulations, and as Medic lit the candles, his favorite part was the glint of the ring.


End file.
